Tag: Hidden history

Just as today we might lust after luxury leather handbags or purses, so too did the Georgians.
For much of the 1700s and into the 1800s, the epitome of luxury for a fashionable gentleman was owning a red Moroccan leather pocket-book. This wallet which carried banknotes, immediately signified wealth due to its materials of soft leather, silver thread, and fine workmanship. It might also have suggested sophistication, as surely only a cosmopolitan, man of the world could get his mitts on such a luxurious and exotic product?
Within the collection at Tunbridge Wells Museum & Art Gallery, is a 1724 embroidered Moroccan pocketbook with silver metallic threads.
This pocket-book has been customised with the name of the owner, Williams Winder, also the place of its manufacture Tetuan (Tétouan in northern Morocco) – famed for its leather workers.

Pocketbook from the collection at Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, 1727

From the Jasper Sprange collection of printers’ proofs at Tunbridge Wells Museum, we can also spot when a pocket-book has been ‘lost’ along with its contents in 1801.

Five Guineas Reward. LostOn Thursday, June 4, 1801, between the Hours of Eight and Ten o’Clock in the Morning, and betwixt Brenchley Town and Lamberhurst QuarterA Red Morocco Pocket Book, Containing Bank of England, Hastings and Tonbridge Notes to the Amount of Twenty-one PoundsThe Owner’s Name wrote on the Inside in German textWhoever will cause the said Book, with its Contents, to be returned to the Owner, shall receive the above-mentioned Reward of FIVE GUINEAS. Sprange, Printer, T. Wells.

Reward poster, printed by Jasper Sprange of Tunbridge Wells, 1801

From the reward poster we can see that these pocket books might have carried paper money issued from the Bank of England. However, if used in towns, they were equally likely to carry money issued by provincial banks. If you’re curious about what these paper notes would have looked like. Here is also some paper money issued by Tonbridge Bank in 1816.

One Pound Note, Tonbridge Bank, 1814

Five Pound Note, Tonbridge New Bank, 1814

These bank notes were circulated in a local area, where people trusted the bank. However, if provincial banks went bust, the owner would be left with near worthless money. In this scenario, the beautifully made Moroccan pocketbooks might have retained more of their value than their contents – a true fashion investment piece!

This blog is a place to share the unexpected and surprising history of Tunbridge Wells in a constructive way (because my family/friends/pets can only humour me for so long.)

Working with the Museum collections since 2013, the surprises and questions have just kept on coming. Why do we have a taxidermy dog? Who stole a hive of bees and vandalised a sedan chair in the 1800s? And more seriously, what do we know of the history of working class Tunbridge Wells? What is the connection between slavery and the spa town? Who were the inspiring women of the past that this generation can look up to now? These topics will soon be explored but see below for an image of our beloved Minnie the Lu Lu terrier, forever entombed in a Tunbridge ware cabinet.

Exploring the hidden past of Tunbridge Wells means focussing on all those unsung histories that have been previously overlooked or ignored. It also means questioning the myths and assumptions that are often made about local history. I hope that you find my research interesting and it provides you with an insight into the wonderful collections of the Museum – all views my own.